


You're Not Alone

by astronis



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Comfort, Established Relationship, Fluff, M/M, Nightmares, Post-Timeskip | War Phase (Fire Emblem: Three Houses), Trauma
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-04
Updated: 2020-01-04
Packaged: 2021-02-25 03:35:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,772
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22109320
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/astronis/pseuds/astronis
Summary: Dimitri wakes up in the middle of the night after having a nightmare, suffering from a panic attack. Luckily, Claude and him have only recently begun sharing a room together, and what could've initially been a long, cold and lonely night for the king ends up becoming the exact opposite.
Relationships: Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd/Claude von Riegan
Comments: 1
Kudos: 39





	You're Not Alone

“Why?” An unknown voice cries out in despair. It echoes around his head; louder every time, until it becomes unbearable. The sound doesn’t dim out, expanding instead. Everything around him is pitch black—there’s nothing to see but void, not even his own body. His limbs invisible as if his consciousness alone had been trapped in the nothingness, and it’s driving him insane.

And the torment doesn’t end there. Suddenly, more voices begin to manifest. Several unintelligible pleas of salvation and vengeance; unheard, unanswered. Each cry creeps up on him, and it fills him with dread, even though he cannot see himself, he knows he’s freezing up, becoming stone solid in place.

“Why?” It doesn’t end. It never ends, it’s the same as when he’s awake, every second of it is exactly the same, but much worse when the voices speak into his consciousness directly. He’s vulnerable to them, lost in static and completely open to their haunting cries. And they crawl up on him, and begin to engulf him into a living nightmare. One he can’t wake up from, even as he’s already awake.

Dimitri jolts up from his bed, feeling cold sweat rolling down his face. He’s gasping for air, loud and heavy, like he’s running out of breath. He’s disoriented, eyes darting to random spots in his room, and he wants to run away. He wants to escape, but he doesn’t know where or how. His breath hitches, voice cracking as he tries to hold himself back, trying to delay his downfall. 

* * *

Tremblingly, he realizes he’s letting out low whimpers of displeasure. He freezes up instantly, and he cannot hold himself back anymore. He digs his own nails on his arms, performing a reality check, trying to feel something. The voices from that dream are still clear as day in his head, and he begins to remember where he’s in. It’s his room, and he was asleep. It was another nightmare, one like the many that have been keeping him up for the past decade, though lately more recurring than ever. Next to him, somebody shifts. Dimitri flinches immediately, still rather disoriented and in the process of grounding himself. 

“Dimitri…?” A familiar voice calls his name, and he blinks. He looks at the figure next to him, becoming clearer as he sits up to meet his gaze. It’s Claude, and something vaguely resembling relief transverses through his body in the midst of his panic attack. 

“Claude…” Dimitri mumbles, still lacking the ability to breathe properly which makes speaking clearly all the more difficult.

“What’s the matter?” Claude practically forces himself awake; he knows something’s up, and whatever it is, it’s not good. He’s stayed up late before until Dimitri could fall asleep, but it was their first time experiencing this together.

Dimitri was cold as ice still. He feared it’d happen with Claude around, despite the latter insisting that it wouldn’t bother him in the slightest. He was unsure; hesitant, and here they were. It had happened, and the last thing he wanted was to lose control of himself and either say or do something he would later regret. More than just that, he was afraid he’d end up harming Claude of all people. 

“I…” He stammers, still unable to properly form a sentence. He knows what’s going on, but he simply cannot organize his thoughts, let alone put them into words, coherently, then speak out to Claude. His mind was clouded still, as if a thick fog had taken over to leave him helpless in a seat to simply react to everything that happens, every sensation that his body registers and is left to interpret in ignorance. That’s how he felt. 

Claude shifts closer, his hand slowly approaching Dimitri’s back. As soon as he makes contact, he feels the other tensing up, so he keeps himself from making any more sudden moves. “It’s okay, Dimitri. Breathe with me,” he whispers, his hand now beginning to move slowly, rubbing up the other’s back. 

All Dimitri manages to reply with is a shaky nod as he exhales sharply, and then breathes in again, following Claude’s rhythm to the best of his ability. His body relaxes now, properly registering Claude’s touch on his back. “That’s good,” Claude reassures patiently, continuing to breathe with him in a much more relaxed pace. After a much needed breather, Dimitri begins to ground himself. He can breathe a bit more steadily now, and even though he’s trembling still, he can now turn his head around and look at Claude in the eye. “Claude…thank you.” 

He feels heavy and exhausted still, as if there was a boulder plastered against his chest, weighing him down, dulling him emotionally and draining him of his energy. His palms are cold still, and his pulse is slightly accelerated, even if he has calmed down significantly. He feels a knot in his head, like a dense mist that blinds him—something irremovable, but he’s snapped back to reality, and Claude is there with him. That much he’s aware of. 

Claude shifts even closer to him now, his arm now wrapping around Dimitri, rubbing up and down his arm as to soothe him. He returns his look and follows up with a warm, sincere smile as he shakes his head. He doesn’t speak, but Dimitri understands he’s simply telling him that there’s no need for a thank you. “I mean it. Thank you.” Dimitri restates, his voice coming back to him now. 

“It’s okay. What happened?” 

“I…had another nightmare. One of the worst so far.” 

Claude exhales through his nose, leaning down to plant a gentle kiss on the king’s shoulder, then he rests his cheek against it as he holds him reassuringly. Truthfully, Claude has no idea what to do in a situation like this, but he’s doing what he feels should be done, and thank the goddess it’s actually working finely. In all fairness, had it not been for their closeness, it would all have been in vain. Dimitri simply ended up trusting Claude enough to show himself vulnerable in front of him, and Claude wasn’t going to tear that trust he was given to shreds; he was going to act, even if he hadn’t a clue how. 

“Feeling better now?” Claude inquires softly. Dimitri’s body was stiff still, even as Claude held him. “Yes,” Dimitri answered, limiting himself in further detail, “thank you.” He insists. It’s the first time he’s been shown this sort of care, only because it’s the first time he’s allowed himself to receive it, and although it was a risk he knew he would be running, he oddly welcomed it, perhaps impressed in the way Claude handled things, and how effective his methods were. “No need to. You knew I was willing to help, ever since you mentioned the possibility of it happening.” 

“I didn’t think one of the worst would happen so soon,” Dimitri spoke almost with fear on the tip of his tongue. “They haunt me; their voices, their desperate pleas. Wherever I go, they follow me, even as I dream.” He clenches his teeth, lowering his head while tensing up. 

“That’s just how war is. Different circumstances have led each of us to do many horrible things, Dimitri.” Claude speaks out with a sigh, thinking before saying anything else. “You don’t have to shoulder that burden by yourself.” He shrugs lightly, shutting his eyes as he inhales against his trapezius, hoping he could communicate some peace to him through actions. 

“I am nothing short of a monster, Claude.” Dimitri can feel his voice quivering once more, curling his fists up and clenching them tight. Claude feels the other’s arm bulging due to how much strength he’s exerting, so he moves his hand on top of one of his fists, and carefully holds it, circling his thumb on it to try and help him relax. “As are the rest of our friends. Even Teach. Even me.” 

“I’ve slain countless people, piled up body after body. Nothing can justify the nature of my actions, and no matter what I do, their grasp…it never lets go. I’m…” Dimitri stops himself, shaking his head to the sides, attempting to break free from his tormenting thoughts. 

He falls silent, but it doesn’t take him long until he begins to sob quietly, refusing to open his eyes or look up. It was too much—too much to think of. He wasn’t in the best mindset to think all of it through again, the same dilemma he had been struggling against for the past five years. And so he cries out, unable to hold himself back. Claude pulls him close against his chest, and he moves his arms quietly to wrap them around him, clinging to him for comfort; any of it. He needed it right now, he knew he couldn’t bear this alone, and he was thankful for Claude. For his patience, loving embrace and reassuring words. All of it mattered to him more than he could ever put into words. 

Claude brings his hand up for his fingers to run along Dimitri’s blond mane, getting some of his hair away from his face, and brushing it with loving touch. “I’m here, don’t worry. You don’t have to be alone.” He reaffirms him, bringing the other’s weight closer and against him. Dimitri’s grip around Claude tightened some, admittedly a bit painful for the latter, but he welcomed it nonetheless. 

Dimitri simply buried his face against Claude’s chest and poured his emotions out; all the while Claude hummed foreign melodies to him that managed to soothe him little by little, coupled by his hand tenderly running along his hair. Every so often, Claude would lean down slightly and place a gentle kiss on top of Dimitri’s head, closing his eyes and letting his nose rub against it as delicately as he could. 

Silence hung on the air around them, the warm embrace of peace ensnaring them both as they quietly drifted back to their sleep. Dimitri fell asleep first, and Claude could only smile before following right after, taking one last gander at his lover as he slept with a look of peace on his face, hinting that this time around, he may actually be able to rest well; and he did. Their sleep was undisturbed, and although unbeknownst to both of them, when Dimitri shifted around in his sleep and found himself using Claude’s torso as his pillow, the vaguest hint of a smile would stretch along his lips, soon to fade away into what Claude hopes will be the peaceful dreams his king deserves.

**Author's Note:**

> this is just a short thing i thought up on the spot before going to sleep last night, so here it is! i've something *much* longer planned for some other time though. i hope you can find this enjoyable nevertheless—it's my first time messing around with this sort of scenario despite having thought of it countless times before.


End file.
